Landmark Seattle theater could go dark

VANESSA H, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

By VANESSA HO, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Updated 10:36 am, Tuesday, July 22, 2014

The original caption read: A streetcar speeds past Cordray's Theater at Third Avenue and Madison Street on its way to Madison Park, circa 1892. [NOTE: The building was demolished during the 1907 regrade of Third Avenue.]
Photo: P-I File

The Roosevelt Theater in September 1937. The theater was first opened in 1933 on Pike Street near Fifth Avenue as the Pike Street Theater. It was later renamed The Town and closed in 1984.
Photo: P-I File

The Arabian Theater in the 7600 block of Aurora Avenue North shown in July 1956 after it closed. The building is now owned by the Saint Germain Foundation. Read more here. Seattlepi.com/MOHAI)
Photo: P-I File

The marine theme of West Seattle's Admiral Theater even included the exit signs.
Photo: P-I File

The marine theme of West Seattle's Admiral Theater even included...

The October 2007 photo caption read: An early-1940's mural provides the backdrop to the concession stand as promotional manager Steve Garrett replaces ceiling lights in the lobby of the Admiral Theater.
Photo: P-I File

The October 2007 photo caption read: An early-1940's mural provides...

Opened in 1942, the Admiral Theater is an Art Deco jewel in West Seattle. Its beautiful, nautically-inspired space has anchored the neighborhood for decades, and it was once home to the Admiral Fountain Cafe.

But the theater needs repairs, and a change in how movies are distributed could spell the end of the historic movie house.

More studios are distributing their movies digitally, instead of on film reels, a move that means major upgrades for the Admiral, the West Seattle Herald reported this month.

Digital movies require expensive digital projectors, which the Admiral would have to buy. That expense, plus other needed expenses to maintain the building, are putting the Admiral - a city landmark in 1989 - at risk.

"We're crunching the numbers and looking for a plan right now," an Admiral Theater rep told the Herald.

See the full story here and check out cool, old photos in the slideshow above of the Admiral and other historic theaters in Seattle.